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Solar Observatory
SOLAR OBSERVATORY Fig. 1. The Watson Solar Observatory c. 1920. Below the building was a twenty foot deep cellar, and a 55 foot horizontal shaft through the hill to a reflector at the surface on the north side. This building was erected by Professor James C. Watson using his own money and labor. Because of the stone reading "Watson Solar Observatory", the building became known as the Watson Mystery House. [series 9/1 Solar Obser- vatory folder, jf-4] The Solar Observatory was built by astronomer James Watson, with his own funds and labor for the purpose of looking for a hypothetical planet near the sun. The experiment did not reveal the planet, and the building was used for storage until its demolition in 1949. hen C. C. Washburn agreed to build an observatory for the University in 1876, the legisla- ture appropriated $3000 per year to fund the staffing and operation of the observatory. The Wperson hired for this job by President Bascom was James Craig Watson, the director of the observatory at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Watson had been a prodigy in astronomy, and was published at 19. His major professor Brunnow, when reproached for the small size of his teaching load exclaimed, "Yes I have only one student, but that one is Watson!"1 Watson became director of Michigan's obser- vatory at age 25 in 1863. Within a year he had discovered the first of what are called Watson's family of asteroids. In July of 1878 Watson went to Separation, Wyoming to observe a solar eclipse. -
Generated on 2012-08-23 18:24 GMT
1SS5 mtt TEGfiNIG. OLD SERIES, NO. II. NEW SERIES, NO. 8. University of Michigan Engineering Society. ALEX. M. HAUBRICH, HEMAN BURR LEONARD, Managing Editor. Business Manager. THOMAS DURAND McCOLL, HOMER WILSON WYCKOFF, CHARLES HENRY SPENCER. THE DETROIT OBSERVATORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. ASAPH HALL, JR., PH.D. This Observatory was built about 1854 through the efforts of Presi- dent Tappan, money for the purpose being raised in Detroit. Mr. Henry N. Walker of Detroit was especially interested in the project and gave funds for the purchase of a meridian circle. The Observatory building is of the usual old-fashioned type, a cen- tral part on the top of which is the dome for the equatorial, and eaBt and west wings, the meridian circle being in the east wing and the library in the west. All the walls are of heavy masonry. About 1853 Dr. Tappan visited Europe and consulted Encke, direc- tor of the Berlin Observatory and Professor of Astronomy in the Uni- versity of Berlin, with regard to the Ann Arbor Observatory. By his advice a meridian circle was ordered of Pistor and Martins and a clock of Tiede. At this time Francis Brunnow was first assistant in the Berlin Obser- vatory. Probably it was through Encke that Brunnow came, in 1854, to- the University of Michigan as the first Professor of Astronomy and. Generated on 2012-08-23 18:24 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071371267 Open Access, Google-digitized / http://www.hathitrust.org/access_use#oa-google 10 Thk Technic. Director of the Observatory. 1 think it likely that the 12} inch Fitz equatorial was ordered before his coming; but it was not delivered till after he was on the ground. -
Hubble Finds Clues to the Birth of Supermassive Black Holes 24 May 2016
Hubble finds clues to the birth of supermassive black holes 24 May 2016 Space Telescope to find and identify the two objects. Both of these newly discovered black hole seed candidates are seen less than a billion years after the Big Bang and have an initial mass of about 100 000 times the Sun. "Our discovery, if confirmed, would explain how these monster black holes were born," said Fabio Pacucci, lead author of the study, of Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy. This new result helps to explain why we see supermassive black holes less than one billion years after the Big Bang. This artist's impression shows a possible seed for the formation of a supermassive black hole. Two of these possible seeds were discovered by an Italian team, using three space telescopes: the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss Astrophysicists have taken a major step forward in understanding how supermassive black holes formed. Using data from Hubble and two other space telescopes, Italian researchers have found the best evidence yet for the seeds that ultimately grow into these cosmic giants. For years astronomers have debated how the earliest generation of supermassive black holes formed very quickly, relatively speaking, after the Big Bang. Now, an Italian team has identified two objects in the early Universe that seem to be the origin of these early supermassive black holes. This image shows one of two detected supermassive The two objects represent the most promising black hole seeds, OBJ29323, as it is seen by the black hole seed candidates found so far. -
Separating Accretion and Mergers in the Cosmic Growth of Black Holes with X-Ray and Gravitational Wave Observations
Draft version May 4, 2020 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX61 SEPARATING ACCRETION AND MERGERS IN THE COSMIC GROWTH OF BLACK HOLES WITH X-RAY AND GRAVITATIONAL WAVE OBSERVATIONS Fabio Pacucci1, 2 and Abraham Loeb1, 2 1Black Hole Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 2Center for Astrophysics j Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ABSTRACT Black holes across a broad range of masses play a key role in the evolution of galaxies. The initial seeds of black holes formed at z ∼ 30 and grew over cosmic time by gas accretion and mergers. Using observational data for quasars and theoretical models for the hierarchical assembly of dark matter halos, we study the relative importance of gas accretion and mergers for black hole growth, as a function of redshift (0 < z < 10) and black hole mass 3 10 (10 M < M• < 10 M ). We find that (i) growth by accretion is dominant in a large fraction of the parameter 8 5 space, especially at M• > 10 M and z > 6; and (ii) growth by mergers is dominant at M• < 10 M and z > 5:5, 8 and at M• > 10 M and z < 2. As the growth channel has direct implications for the black hole spin (with gas accretion leading to higher spin values), we test our model against ∼ 20 robust spin measurements available thus far. As expected, the spin tends to decline toward the merger-dominated regime, thereby supporting our model. The next generation of X-ray and gravitational-wave observatories (e.g. Lynx, AXIS, Athena and LISA) will map out populations of black holes up to very high redshift (z ∼ 20), covering the parameter space investigated here in almost its entirety. -
Women in Astronomy: an Introductory Resource Guide
Women in Astronomy: An Introductory Resource Guide by Andrew Fraknoi (Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco) [April 2019] © copyright 2019 by Andrew Fraknoi. All rights reserved. For permission to use, or to suggest additional materials, please contact the author at e-mail: fraknoi {at} fhda {dot} edu This guide to non-technical English-language materials is not meant to be a comprehensive or scholarly introduction to the complex topic of the role of women in astronomy. It is simply a resource for educators and students who wish to begin exploring the challenges and triumphs of women of the past and present. It’s also an opportunity to get to know the lives and work of some of the key women who have overcome prejudice and exclusion to make significant contributions to our field. We only include a representative selection of living women astronomers about whom non-technical material at the level of beginning astronomy students is easily available. Lack of inclusion in this introductory list is not meant to suggest any less importance. We also don’t include Wikipedia articles, although those are sometimes a good place for students to begin. Suggestions for additional non-technical listings are most welcome. Vera Rubin Annie Cannon & Henrietta Leavitt Maria Mitchell Cecilia Payne ______________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents: 1. Written Resources on the History of Women in Astronomy 2. Written Resources on Issues Women Face 3. Web Resources on the History of Women in Astronomy 4. Web Resources on Issues Women Face 5. Material on Some Specific Women Astronomers of the Past: Annie Cannon Margaret Huggins Nancy Roman Agnes Clerke Henrietta Leavitt Vera Rubin Williamina Fleming Antonia Maury Charlotte Moore Sitterly Caroline Herschel Maria Mitchell Mary Somerville Dorrit Hoffleit Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Beatrice Tinsley Helen Sawyer Hogg Dorothea Klumpke Roberts 6. -
PUBLICATIONS of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY of the PACIFIC Vol. 65 December 1953 No. 387 ARMIN OTTO LEUSCHNER 1868-1953 Dinsmore Al
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC Vol. 65 December 1953 No. 387 ARMIN OTTO LEUSCHNER 1868-1953 Dinsmore Alter Griffith Observatory An account of my own first contacts with Professor Leuschner will be related here because it illustrates such an important aspect of his personality. It is merely one of the many stories which other astronomers could tell of what he did for them. Indeed, there are others that may illustrate even better the efforts he made to help those who studied under him. In December 1913, I was a young professor at the Univer- sity of Alabama, very anxious to finish the requirements for a Ph.D. degree, but, because I had a wife and daughter to consider, I could not afford to accept an ordinary fellowship. I wrote to Dr. Leuschner, to whom I was a stranger, asking about the pos- sibility of a teaching position which would enable me to carry on my graduate studies. In reply, he offered me a fellowship but feared that a full-time instructorship would not be available. I explained my financial position in detail, and later that winter he offered me an instructorship. After my arrival in Berkeley I learned that he had combined two fellowships to make it possible for me to go there. I had been away from formal study for several years, and, moreover, had received very poor instruction in mathematics while an undergraduate at a small college. During my first months at Berkeley I studied long hours because of this handicap. One afternoon Professor Leuschner asked me to take a walk 269 © Astronomical Society of the Pacific · Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System Γ.,?. -
December 2019
The Newsletter of Westchester Amateur Astronomers December 2019 M8-The Lagoon Nebula by Gary Miller A familiar object at summer star parties, M8 in Sagittarius was first glimpsed by John Flamsteed in 1680 and called “The Lagoon Nebula” by the Irish astronomer Agnes Clerke in The System of the Stars (1890). It is an emission nebula which re-radiates the energy of several hot young stars embedded within it, including 9 Sagittari (dead center). It also surrounds the open cluster NGC 6530, a system of 113 young stars. Although it’s low in the summer sky from Westchester, it’s a wonderful visual object in nearly any telescope. SERVING THE ASTRONOMY COMMUNITY SINCE 1986 Westchester Amateur Astronomers SkyWAAtch December 2019 WAA December Meeting WAA January Meeting Friday, December 6th at 7:30 pm Friday, January 10th at 7:30 pm Lienhard Hall, 3rd floor Lienhard Hall, 3rd floor Pace University, Pleasantville, NY Pace University, Pleasantville, NY The History of Glass: The Power Behind Why Go Back to the Moon? Discovery Andy Poniros Alan Witzgall NASA Solar System Ambassador Senior Optician, ESCO Optics Andy has been a NASA volunteer since 1997 and a Alan is an active member and officer of several ama- NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2004 . He teur astronomy societies in New Jersey. In his profes- has a degree in Electrical Engineering and has worked sional life, he is a Senior Optician for ESCO Optics of as a Medical Imaging Engineer for 45 years. He is Oak Ridge, NJ. His career in optics started with build- certified by NASA to handle Lunar samples, is a sci- ing telescopes in his basement during his high school ence correspondent for radio station WPKN in Con- and college years. -
Delphi ODIN the Team in Groningen
Early galaxy formation and its implications for dark matter, 21cm cosmology and multi-messenger astronomy Pratika Dayal DELPHi ODIN The team in Groningen Ruslan Brilenkov Maxime Trebitsch Anne Hutter Pratika Dayal Laurent Legrand Jonas Bremer Olmo Piana Key collaborators and collaborations Rychard Bouwens: Leiden University, The Netherlands Volker Bromm: University of Texas at Austin, USA Marco Castellano: Observatory of Rome, Italy Benedetta Ciardi: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany Tirthankar Choudhury: National Centre for Radio Astronomy, India James Dunlop: Institute for Astronomy, U.K. Andrea Ferrara: Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy Stefan Gottloeber: Leibniz institute for Astrophysics, Germany Hiroyuki Hirashita: ASIAA, Taiwan Umberto Maio: Leibniz institute for Astrophysics, Germany Antonella Maselli: University of Barcelona, Spain Andrei Mesinger: Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy LISA Volker Mueller: Leibniz institute for Astrophysics, Germany Noam Libeskind: Leibniz institute for Astrophysics, Germany Fabio Pacucci: Harvard, USA Laura Pentericci: Observatory of Rome, Italy Elena Rossi: Leiden University, The Netherlands Catherine Trott: ICRAR, Perth, Australia Livia Vallini: Nordita, Stockholm, Sweden Marta Volonteri: Observatory of Paris, France Gustavo Yepes: Universita Autonoma di Madid, Spain… EUCLID HST The outstanding challenges • Hints on the (warm) nature of dark matter using early galaxies • Hints on (warm) nature of dark matter using 21cm data • Early galaxies and GW events from LISA Hints on the (warm) nature of dark matter using early galaxies and 21cm data Hierarchical structure formation in CDM z = 20 z = 10 z =7 z =6 CDM Mass roughly ~100 GeV Lighter the WDM particle, more is the suppression of small scale structure z = 20 z = 10 z =7 z =6 3keV Lighter the WDM particle, more is the suppression of small scale structure z = 20 z = 10 z =7 z =6 1.5keV Since the merger tree starts building up later in WDM models. -
Detecting the Birth of Supermassive Black Holes Formed from Heavy
A White Paper for the Astro2020 Decadal Survey Detecting the Birth of Supermassive Black Holes Formed from Heavy Seeds Thematic Area: Galaxy Evolution, Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Astrophysics, Formation and Evolution of Compact Objects, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics Principal Author: Name: Fabio Pacucci Institution: Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Yale University Email: [email protected] Phone: (203)298-2478 Co-authors: Vivienne Baldassare1, Nico Cappelluti2, Xiaohui Fan3, Andrea Ferrara4, Zoltan Haiman5, Priyamvada Natarajan1, Feryal Ozel3, Raffaella Schneider6, Grant R. Tremblay7, Megan C. Urry1, Rosa Valiante8, Alexey Vikhlinin7, Marta Volonteri9 1Yale University, 2University of Miami, 3University of Arizona, 4Scuola Normale Superiore, 5Columbia University, 6Sapienza Universita` di Roma, 7Center for Astrophysics j Harvard & Smithsonian, 8INAF - Roma, 9Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris Artistic representation of a heavy black hole seed, formed in the early Universe. Despite numerous theoretical and observational efforts to observe the birth of the first population of black holes, thus far we are still lacking a confirmed detection. The formation of these objects would be among the most spectacular events in the history of the Universe. (Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss) Introduction The dawn of the first black holes (and stars) occurred ∼ 100 Myr after the Big Bang (Barkana and Loeb 2001). It is very remarkable that numerous observations in the past two decades have shown 9−10 the presence of Super-Massive Black Holes (SMBHs, with masses 10 M ) less than 700 Myr later (e.g., Fan et al. 2006; Mortlock et al. 2011; Wu et al. 2015; Banados˜ et al. 2018). A “seed” is the original black hole that, growing via gas accretion and mergers, generates a SMBH. -
CONTENTS of Pulsars 35 Years Ago, in Her Presidential Address of 2003 to the Royal Astronomical Society
June 2004 ❊ Jocelyn Bell Burnell is Dean of Science at Bath University, England. She looks back at the discovery CONTENTS of pulsars 35 years ago, in her Presidential Address of 2003 to the Royal Astronomical Society. Pliers, pulsars and extreme physics This article first appeared in the February In an area the equivalent Jocelyn Bell Burnell 2004 issue of Astronomy and Geophysics of two football pitches, six of us built an array of a thousand 1 and is reprinted here with the permission wooden posts, 2048 copper Portrait of a Decade: Results of Blackwell Publishing and the author. dipoles and 120 miles of wire and cable. It operated at 81.5 from the 2003 CSWA Survey Bell-Burnell collection MHz and took about two of Women in Astronomy Pliers, pulsars and extreme years to build. We built the Jennifer L. Hoffman and Meg Urry physics Photo by telescope at the height of the Jocelyn Bell Rhodesian copper crisis, using 1 By Jocelyn Bell Burnell Burnell several tons of copper wire, The Leaky Pipeline for Women hirty-five years ago, when research students and we always had nightmares that we would in Physics and Astronomy joined the Cambridge Radio Astronomy come out one morning to find someone had been T Group they were presented with a set of round with wire cutters and removed the copper. Fran Bagenal tools. It was very nice that the Cavendish could It had happened to one of the subsidiary radio 13 afford to give tools to all of us, but it was also a telescopes, but it didn’t happen to this one. -
Stsci Newsletter: 2014 Volume 031 Issue 01
National Aeronautics and Space Administration A stunning image of NGC 2174, known as the Monkey Head Nebula, was unveiled in Rome by John Grunsfeld, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, and Fabio Favata, Head of ESA’s Science Planning and Community Coordination Office. 2014 VOL 31 ISSUE 01 NEWSLETTER Space Telescope Science Institute HST IV & Looking to the Future Neill Reid, [email protected], Antonella Nota, [email protected], & Pam Jeffries, [email protected] pril 24, 2014, marked the 24th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space ATelescope. This year also marks the 37th anniversary of the completion of the pivotal roles in establishing both ESA and the European Organization for Nuclear formal, cooperative memorandum of understanding regarding Hubble’s construc- Research (CERN), the premier multi-national scientific enterprises in post-war tion and operation—signed in October 1977 between NASA and the European Europe. Roger Davies (Oxford) co-chaired the Science Organizing Committee, Space Agency (ESA). Throughout those years ESA has played a crucial role in composed of astronomers from Europe and the U.S. For additional information promoting Hubble’s mission, providing technical expertise, instrumentation, and on the conference and final electronic records, see: http://www.stsci.edu/ support scientists. Just as significantly, the ESA research community has made institute/conference/hst4. extensive use of Hubble’s extraordinary capabilities, winning more than 22% of Hubble observations span almost every discipline within astronomy, and that the observing time allocated over the past 24 years and accounting for 27% of the versatility was reflected in the widely varied science program at the conference. -
Can Minorities Break Astronomy's Glass Ceiling?
Can minorities break astronomy’s glass ceiling? At last year’s American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., Dave Eicher, editor of Astronomy and Rich Talcott, senior editor, met with a small group of astronomers to discuss the state of the AAS Minorities Committee. Here follows a full-length version of this conversation. For additional insight into the state of minorities in the field of astronomy, visit the Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy’s website and learn about minority resources, issues, and CSMA members at www.astro.wisc.edu/csma. Also, to learn about the Committee on the Status of Women in astronomy, check out www.aas.org/~cswa. You can also learn about the women’s role in physics by visiting the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics website, http://www.aps.org/educ/cswp/index.html. And be sure to access Ann Finkbeiner’s article on Astronomy.com, “Good morning gentlemen, and Meg.” Eicher: Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming and let’s start by asking everyone to introduce him or herself and talk a little bit about what you do. Please describe what you are now doing with the Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA) and what the committee’s goals are. Stassun: I’m Keivan Stassun, a postdoc at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Hubble Fellow. What we’re doing is a number of things, but we’re mostly just trying to launch the committee with a number of efforts. Phase 1, which is culminating at this meeting, is to enhance the visibility and awareness of the committee, and to get out a newsletter called Spectrum.